Religions in America

Instructions for Monday’s Class Nov 18 – “Source Plus”

You have now turned in a topic proposal and have begun researching your chosen topic. On Monday, Nov 18, we will have a roundtable in which each person should present one of the sources they are using for their paper. Due in class: (preferably printed out rather than emailed) a piece of writing about your source, 1-3 pages long, following the criteria below. This piece of writing could end up being a draft for the section of your paper in which you analyze or discuss this particular source, so it’s a helpful intermediate step in the paper-drafting process.

If you are bringing a Primary Source to share:

• When was this source created, by whom, and for what purpose?
• Describe the source (its contents, its material dimensions if applicable, any other useful descriptors).
• Emphasize any specific strengths or weaknesses of this source.
• Why did you choose this one to share with the class?
• How is it applicable to or useful within your particular project?
• How does this source benefit religious historians, or what can we (collectively, in our class) learn about American religious history from it?

If you are bringing a Secondary Source to share: (such as a book or journal article)

• Explain title, author, publisher or journal, and date. Help us “meet the author.”
• Summarize the abstract or main topics, scope, and purpose of the source.
• What does it say? (i.e. what argument is the author making, or what new or interesting information does s/he present?)
• What do you think about what it says? (i.e. how is it applicable to or useful within your particular project? Are there specific strengths or weaknesses you’d like to mention?)
• Why did you choose this one to share with the class?
• How does this source benefit religious historians, or what can we (collectively, in our class) learn about American religious history from it?